File::MMagic vs File::MimeInfo

markjugg has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

I'm curious if people have reviews of using File::MimeInfo::Magic as part of websites, including mod_perl. I had used File::MMagic in the past, but it hasn't been updated in two years, and has 19 open bugs, including some serious ones.

Part of the File::MMagic approach is to bundle its own "magic file" data set. File::MimeInfo instead gets its data from the operating system, making it more prone perhaps to giving different results in different environments.

Your thoughts? Consider responding with a formal review of File::MimeInfo so that others can more easily find your opinion of it.

Mark Stosberg

Comment on File::MMagic vs File::MimeInfo

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Re: File::MMagic vs File::MimeInfo by clinton (Priest) on Nov 10, 2008 at 12:45 UTC
Hi Mark I've got the same misgivings about File::MMagic and File::MMagic::XS as you. File::MimeInfo::Magic looks like a nicely written module, but I'm concerned about using it in my mod_perl app, because loading the module plus the magic data consumes 2-3MB of memory - memory which will become less shared with time because it lives in Perl rather than in a library. File::LibMagic is an XS interface to `libmagic` and, while it still loads 1.6MB of data, that data can be shared between children. It's not a great interface though. I'm considering just using a system call to `file`, and lose a bit of performance in order to save some memory as, in my case, these mime-type checks happen seldom. Clint	[reply] [d/l] [select]

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Re: File::MMagic vs File::MimeInfo
by clinton (Priest) on Nov 10, 2008 at 12:45 UTC

I've got the same misgivings about File::MMagic and File::MMagic::XS as you. File::MimeInfo::Magic looks like a nicely written module, but I'm concerned about using it in my mod_perl app, because loading the module plus the magic data consumes 2-3MB of memory - memory which will become less shared with time because it lives in Perl rather than in a library.

File::LibMagic is an XS interface to libmagic and, while it still loads 1.6MB of data, that data can be shared between children. It's not a great interface though.

I'm considering just using a system call to file, and lose a bit of performance in order to save some memory as, in my case, these mime-type checks happen seldom.

Clint

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